SOME REMARKS ON THE FAMILY JASCOPIDAE 
(HOMOPTERA, AUCHENORRHYNCHA) 
By J. W. Evans 
Honorary Associate, Australian Museum, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia 
In a recent paper a new family of Homoptera, the Jascopidae, 
which is claimed by the author to “represent a group of organisms 
intermediate between the Cercopidae and Cicadellidae”, is defined 
(Hamilton, 1971). This family is based on a single nymph found 
in Canadian amber of probable Upper Cretaceous age and named 
Jascopus notabilis Hamilton. 
Insects belonging to the Cercopoidea and Cicadelloidea have a 
superficial resemblance but there are several important features, 
both of a structural and a biological nature, in which they differ. 
Among the more important of the former are the armature of the 
hind tibiae, the nature of the tentorium and the venation of the 
forewings, or tegmina. 
The hind tibiae of adult cercopoids have one, or a few, strong 
spurs and lack spines. The hind tibiae of cicadelloids are usually 
heavily spined and if spurs also are present then they bear spines at 
their apices. 
In the Cercopoidea, as in the Cicadoidea, the anterior arms of 
the tentorium are joined to the posterior tentorial bar. The anterior 
arms in the Cicadelloidea are short and lack any connection with 
the posterior arms. 
In the tegmina of cercopoids Sc is present (though sometimes 
obscure) as a short, curved vein and M, proximally, usually forms 
part of the same vein as CuA but never of R. In the tegmen of 
cicadelloids a separate Sc is lacking and M, except in a few mem- 
bracids and biturritids, has a common stem with R. 
It is evident that the characteristics furnished by the hind tibiae 
and the tentorium could not occur in a state intermediate between 
the cercopoid and cicadelloid condition but this does not apply to the 
venation of the tegmina, for a pattern of venation could be devised 
which might be regarded as ancestral to those of both superfamilies. 
Unfortunately, the venation of the tegmina of the Jascopidae is, 
and must remain, unknown. It needs, however, to be mentioned that 
evidence based on a study of venation suggests that by as early as 
Permian times the Cercopoidea and the Cicadelloidea were already 
established as separate distinctive groups (Evans, 1964). 
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